Perfectly Placed

Placed softly

beneath our stumbling feet

not because we

deserve it

but because He

loves us…

A brand new day of grace

Placed kindly

before our pleading gaze

not because we earned it

but because He

forgives…

A brand new day of grace

Placed tenderly

over our trampled past

not because we

want it

but because we need it…

A brand new day of grace

© Janet Martin

Softly Touching Our Hands

Gold fingers reach from a cloak gently softening

Over serene valley, blue-brimming with mist

Into the meadow, where its humble offering

Is threaded with diamonds of dew-silver kiss

The brook winds its sash across spring's emerald garment

Through pastoral wood-lot and out to the sea

Forgotten ponds burst with songs of the season

Turquoise-jade patches on earth’s rugged knee

Gentle breeze rouses the bird from its slumber

Nature’s choristers fill somnolent space

As over the earth spreads a heavenly wonder

Of unmarred perfection; a new day of grace

Yester's red sun, as it slipped from our visage

Tugged with it the day, into history’s embrace

Now it rises again; yet is not encumbered

With past’s soiled attempts; but a new day of grace

And we turn to the Master-piece dazzling the acre

Where grace has allowed us a dot on time’s sands

Thankfulness rushes through our hearts like pure water

As a new day of mercy softly touches our hands

© Janet Martin

It is not difficult to see His beauty on a morning like this…

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Ps. 118:24

Whispers of Grace

Golden dawn lures me

From cover-warm sleep

Night’s fabric diffuses

As soft moments creep

Over the skyline

They hover to pass

Brief transient shadows

On sun-dappled grass

Shake off wooly slumber

A new day a-waits

Pouring in splendor

Through morn’s lofty gates

As restlessly moments

Slip over our skin

Drops in an ocean

Of what might have been…

…should we fail to seize them

Inhale from each gem

The nectar of mercy

In hope’s diadem

Trickling gently in moments

To an ethereal sea

Whispers of grace

And opportunity

© Janet Martin

His Embrace

A soft May dawn rises to brush

The thunder-cloud awry

Its gold and silver-misted hush

Drapes low against earth’s sigh

And from the throat of bird and breeze

Glad anthems tune the air

Their free, unhindered praises please

The One who placed them there

Lord, tune the measure of my praise

To flow without restraint

Forgive me for my errant gaze

And vain, foolish complaint

Nature in grand perfection blooms

Submissive to your will

As flowers leap from earthen tombs

And leaf to wooded rill

A soft May dawn rises to brush

The past into the mist

His mercy stirs the unmarred hush

Of heaven’s gracious gift

Into my out-stretched palm He pours

Another day of grace

Let me desire nothing more

Than His present embrace

© Janet Martin

 May the words of my mouth 

and the meditation of my heart 

be pleasing in your sight, 

O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Ps. 19:14

Wild Awakening

Poetics Aside Prompt: Morning Poem

The howling gale deploys its wrath

Against the shivering dawn

Nothing remains within its path

That is not fastened down

It screams and shrieks at every door

In urgent nothingness

A mammoth bully with a roar

Tormenting budded tress

And yet, the dawn creeps to the air

Above the earth's turmoil

I fold my helpless thought in prayer

And trust God with my spoil

© Janet Martin

 

  

I Love the Way...

I love the way You breathe upon

The skyline in the dark

And gently soften heaven’s gown

To fade out heaven’s spark

You veil with mist the mountain crest

The valley, field and sea

The moon, a wafer in the west

Slips to obscurity

I love the way the sunlight pools

In yellow on the slope

As Time unravels from its spools

Translucent threads of hope

And we commence, with lightened step

Upon the road un-taken

With humble whisper on our lips

For seeds of faith unshaken

I love the way the dew and rain

Pearls on the musky flower

The scent of morning on the lane

After a midnight shower

I love the mercy You portray 

To mankind’s fumbling story

As you unveil another day

In all its pristine glory

© Janet Martin 

La. 3: 22-24

Time's Pennies

Clenching my fist

What good can it do?

Life’s transient moments

Still trickle on through

Clinging more tightly

To the one in my grip

Does not alter courses

Of the moments that slip

Ethereal river

How swiftly you run

From midnight to dawn

To the setting of sun

Wee moment, time’s penny

A miniscule lot

But put them together

And see what we’ve got

Moments of pleasure

Moments of strife

Gathered together

In a beautiful life

© Janet 

Unfettered Bliss

Abruptly from unfettered bliss

The slumbering mind is wrenched

As alarms clocks across the universe

Announce night’s sudden end

…then stumbling out to greet the dawn

A new bliss sweeps our eyes

As heaven spills its palette on

The floor of paradise

© Janet Martin

Gift of Infinite Compassion

Armed with the valor of new hope

Dawn sweeps the stringent sky

Outlining limb and darkened slope

‘gainst heaven’s waking eye

It spreads in victory certain

Up to the vaulted blue

And rends the heavy curtain

And bids the night adieu

As surely as God’s keeping

As surely as His word

As sure as every season

The pulse of life is stirred

To wake above, new morning

To nudge beneath, the seeds

As spring-time’s grand adorning

Its awesome Maker heeds

Armed with the surety of God’s care

We view this virgin day

Breaking across the atmosphere

In dawn’s perfect array

As we, earth’s vilest creature

Touch Mercy’s unmarred face

Trusting fair nature's Teacher

And God’s amazing grace

© Janet Martin

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lam. 3: 22-23

Extended Grace

Song: Morning Has Broken

The night has fled, its somber shroud

Is swallowed by the plea

Of amber and magenta cloud

Spreading across the sea

Above this sphere a robe of cheer

Dissolves in rampant glow

To touch the heart, melting ramparts

Of fear and doubt and woe

Behold the glory of the Son

Reach out; inhale His grace

As mercy tumbles from Love's throne

To every hiding place

Of old and young in kindred tongue

The universe declares

That there is none, like heaven’s own

Whose wonderment compares

He stirs the fringes of deep night

Where moon and stars reside

He overrules the dark with Light

As night and morn collide

Across the earth hope’s grand re-birth

Extends this scope of Grace

We lift our eyes to glorious skies

To glimpse the Giver’s face

© Janet Martin

He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.(Matt.5:45)

Survival

Today I must survive on the bare necessities

Your eyes
your lips
your hands
your thoughts
and words
your touch

oh, what a beautiful survival kit
the dawn is still dark
there is no one here but us
I suggest desperate survival measures

J~

Drinking in the Dawn and Mercy...

The pale day establishes itself

in a pastel ribbon on the eastern skyline

as sparse February landscapes scrawl

wooden lace etchings against the folding night.

Wakening breezes moan at a window garnished

with fresh hand-prints of yesterday’s eager toddler.

Black coffee smiles in my mouth.

Lingering against the cool glass,
I greet the coral sun

coaxing itself above the earth's charcoal edge

in golden-fingered shafts twixt the church steeple

and the ragged, pine tree-tops.

The frozen teasel salutes her ascent.

An icicle begins to weep beneath her kiss.

Hope tantalizes dawn's nostrils and

from my knees, I drink in

Strength. 

He tugs me to my feet

my empty cup running over

as God smiles

mercy across the earth.

Janet~

my first attempt at Margo's assignment.

Heaven's Hope

Cobalt, pewter

Low-flung sky

Resists the hour of day

Golden whisper

Threads dark lines

And melts its grasp away

Worry, sorrow

Heavy heart

Resists the power of trust

Heaven’s whisper

Reassures

And hope fills empty cups

© Janet~

It seemed as if the heavy cloud resists the dawn today...
...slowly the cobalt veil recedes and the gold line expands!
One cannot stop the Light, It will have the final say.
After all, these are powers far beyond our hands

Master Painter

Into His heavenly palette He dips an ethereal brush
While slumb'ring earth lays dormant on the palm of midnight's hush
He gently breathes in dulcet tones upon the darkened sky
A hint of lavender and bronze to tease the wakening eye
And as the doleful veil recedes with heaven's passion stirred
The puddles, lakes and oceans bleed in colors of His word
As hope takes on the burnished hue of orange and ruddy glow
Reflected in the morning dew like ruby-tinted snow
Then drooping hearts and heavy eyes are lifted from despair
Enlightened by the glorious art-work startling placid air
And bolder now the Painter speaks, impassioned in His quest
To render sangfroid doubters weak and His believers blessed
He splashes ‘cross the universe fluorescent pink and gold
Stroking afar the blackened curse in shades redeeming; bold
As grace in glorious form declares, ‘Behold, the great I AM'
His wonder fills the morning air; the shadow of The Lamb
Whilst I in my amazement whisper softly, ‘who am I
That You should bless me with freely with this master-piece from high?’

Janet~

This New Day

Feet touch down on pristine crest
Of unmarred Time
Aspirations of hope persuade
My will to climb
Beyond the benediction
Of failure laid to rest
I close my eyes and whisper, Lord
Help me to do my best

Upon its flawless tarmac
I brush soft threads of prayer
And shed the cloak of longing, wrought
By echoes of despair
The unknown lies before me
The known is left behind
I exist somewhere betwixt
In moments un-designed

The purple-gilded sky-line
Declares that night has fled
As duty’s iridescent rod
Beckons me from my bed
I cradle for a moment
Dear loved ones in a prayer
Feet touch upon life’s pristine crest
As hope breathes on the air

Janet

What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who is against us? Romans 8:31

Grand Still-life

To pause upon the brink of dawn
And see its languid tone
Begin to creep across the lawn
And silent cobblestone

Too see the heavy folds of night
Lift from earth’s frozen shore
As heaven’s fingers spread the light
Across its darkened floor

...and black-etched form of birch and pine
Drawn starkly ‘gainst the dusk
Begins to soften rigid lines
In shades of gold-chartreuse

To feel the hope of things to come
Awaken with the flower
As earth stirs ‘neath a painted dome
Aflame with holy power

To see the Hand that lights the dawn
In unframed works of art
Restores in me with quiet awe
A meek, contented heart

Janet Martin

I took this picture from my front porch this morning.
I realized that every 'frame' I shot was perfect.
How could they not be? Painted by the perfect Creator!

While Having My Morning Coffee...

Darkness creeps languorously away from the dawn
A soft breeze wanders across the lawn
Possibilities breathe upon the air
Drawing from me, a wordless prayer

Daylight wavers on the landscapes brink
In trembling quivers of coral and pink
Somewhere past this line of view
Is another world full of people…and you

Feathered throat and green-laden tree
Merge in a rushing symphony
Arousing in me an intangible Presence
Of Power and Hope and wistful essence

Coffee is simply a minor detail
As I behold dawn’s miracle
Sheening the meadow and fading the mist
As earth’s drowsy eye-lids are heaven-kissed

Janet~



Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.” Lam.3:22-24

And Then the Dawn~

While longing burns deep in our chest
While lives play out twixt east and west
Mankind looks to higher plains
Where one true Living Hope remains
While this small planet weeps and groans
Beneath the toil of sticks and stones
We shoulder sorrow's heavy load
For it is not a hopeless road
Someday our longing will be gone
As we awake in Heaven's dawn

Janet~

Another gorgeous sunrise this morning~

Here Am I

Maybe it’s just another sunrise
In a sense perhaps that’s what it is
Beautiful wakening of deep skies
But I believe it’s so much more than this
As the glory of a new day hails from high
I hear a mighty Voice say ‘here am I’

Here am I, the Father of compassion
Holding out my offering to you
As the Light rends the dark horizon
Piercing through the veil of somber hue
His power spreads across the morning sky
Flooding the universe, ‘Here am I’

Here am I, with perfect love unfailing
Here am I, the teacher of the sun
Here am I at the glorious unveiling
Of another day of grace for everyone
Look up, look up behold the glowing sky
And the Ruler of the morning, ‘here am I’

Here am I with mercy for a new day
Here am I, oh won’t you follow Me?
Here am I, the one and only true Way
Here am I, God of eternity
Won’t you trust the Painter of the sky?
Oh can’t You hear him saying, ‘here am I’?

Janet~

Yesterday's Tomorrow

The shrill beeping of the alarm clock

Tears a merciless slash

Through thickened folds of slumber

As strong wills suddenly clash

Somewhere across days worth of miles

Others are rising too

Some with groans, some with smiles

Setting the coffee to brew

I realize, with a tug of sorrow

As I gaze at dawns awesome display

How swiftly yesterday's tomorrow

Becomes today

We stand where we have never stood before

Or ever will again

On the brink of today; I open the door

God’s love comes pouring in

Janet~